110g Plain Flour
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt
5-6 tbsp Skimmed Milk
Instructions
1. Put all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor or blender and whizz for about 45 seconds or
until the mixture is smooth.
2. Leave the batter to rest for an hour before using.
¼pt (150ml) Mayonnaise
2 tsp Capers
3 Cocktail Gherkins
1 tsp Chives
1 tsp Double Cream
Instructions
Finely chop the gherkins and chives. Add all the ingredients to the mayonnaise.
1 lb Maryland crabmeat
1 c Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 lg Egg; or 2 small
1/4 c Mayonnaise; - about
1 ts Worcestershire sauce
1 ts Dry mustard
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Pepper
Margarine; butter or oil;- for frying
Instructions
Remove all cartilage from Crabmeat.
In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs, egg(s), mayonnaise and seasonings.
Add Crabmeat and mix gently but thoroughly.
If mixture is too dry add a little more mayonnaise.
Shape into six cakes.
Cook cakes in fry pan, in just enough fat to prevent sticking, until browned; about 5 minutes on each side.
350g/12oz skinless lemon sole filler
25g/1oz seasoned flour
2 eggs, beaten
55g/2oz panko or fresh breadcrumbs
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
For the Tartare Sauce
1 quantitiy of Mustard Mayonnaise (see tip)
1 tsp green olives, finely chopped
1 tsp gherkins, finely chopped
1 tsp capers, finely chopped
1 tsp snipped fresh chives
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Make the Tartare Suace: mix all the ingredients together. Cut the lemon sole into goujons, slice the
fillet diagonally to make long pieces about the size of your little finger.
Place the flour in a small shallow dish or tray. Place the eggs in a second dish or
tray and place the breadcrumbs in a third.
Set the deep fat fryer to 190C/375F, or heat some oil in a large pan to the same temperature or until a
cube of bread browns in about 30 seconds. If it blackens in the same time it is too hot.
Dip the goujons first in the seasoned flour, then the egg and finally the breadcumbs, then deep fry
until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with lemon wedges and tartare sauce.
TIP:
To make Mustard Mayonnaise, ensure all the ingredients are at room temperature before starting.
You will need: one tablespoon English mustard; two egg yolks; one tablespoon white wine vinegar;
three-quarters teaspoon salt; few turns of white pepper; and 300ml/half pint groundnut or sunflower oil.
Place the mustard, egg yolks, vinegar, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl, then place the bowl on a tea towel to
stop it from slipping. Using a wire whisk, beat the oil into the egg mixture a little at a time until it
is all incorporated. Once you have carefully added abour the same volume of oil as the original mixture of
egg yolks and vinegar, you can add the oil more quickly.
1.8kg/4lb fresh mussels
225ml/8fl oz dry cider, Normandy if possible
3 shallots or 1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, parsley stalks, thyme sprigs)
25g/1oz butter, softened
15g/½oz plain four
150ml/¼ pint creme fraîche
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Scrub the mussels and pull our the beards protruding from between the closed shells. Discard any mussels
that won't stay closed.
Place the cider, shallots, bouquet garni and plenty of freshly ground black pepper in a large pan, bring to the boil, then simmer for 2 minutes.
Add the mussels, cover the pan and cook over a high heat for 3 - 4 minutes until the mussels have opened. Discard any that have remained closed. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels into a large, deep serving dish, discarding the bouquet garni, cover and keep hot. Reserve the cooking juices.
Mix the butter with the flour to make a smooth paste. Bring the reserved cooking juices to the boil, add the creme fraiche, the whisk in the butter paste a little at a time. Simmer the sauce very gently for 5 minutes to cook out the flour. Taste the sauce for seasoning, stir in the chopped parsley and then pour it all over the mussels.
450g/1lb Mashed potatoes, cooled
2 eggs
25g/1oz melted butter
2 tsp anchovy essense or Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
10 turns black pepper mill
450g/ 1lb cooked white fish (See Tip), broken into small pieces with skin and bones removed
55g/2oz seasoned flour
2 eggs, beaten
150g/5½oz fresh white breadcrumbs
oil, for frying
Instructions
Mix the potatoes with the eggs and melted butter, then fold in the anchovy essense, parsley, salt
and pepper and fish pieces.
Shape the mixture into fish cakes, using your hands and a palette knife. Coat each cake in the flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs. Shallow or deep fry as you prefer until crisp and golden and heated right through.
TIP:
You can use any white fish, or indeed, any oily fish to make these fish cakes, but cheaper white fish such as
ling, coley, pollack, whiting and pouting (also known as pout or bib) are ideal.
55g/2oz rocket leaves
6 very thin slices Parma ham
115g/4oz large cooked peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Divide the rocket between four cold plates. Tear the Parma ham into pieces about 5cm/2in across
and arrange among the leaves.
Scatter over the prawns, then drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over each salad, grind over some black pepper and serve.
2 egg yolks
2 tsp white wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
300ml/½pint extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before beginning. Place the egg yolks, vinegar and salt
into a mixing bowl, then place the bowl onto a tea towel to stop it slipping.
Using a wire whisk, beat the oil into the egg mixture a little at a time until you have incorporated it all. Once you have added about the same volume of oil as the original mixure of egg yolks and vinegar, add the oil more quickly.
400g Salmon Fillet (Free from skin and bone)
400g Cod Fillet (free from skin and bone)
4 heads Spring Onion (chopped)
100g Chopped Herbs (Chervil, Parsley and Tarragon)
100g Breadcrumbs
1-2 tbsp Mayonnaise
Juice of ½ Lemon
Salt and Pepper
25g Flour
20g Unsalted Butter
1 tbsp Oil
Instructions
Roughly cut the Salmon and Cod into approx 1"-2" squares, season with Salt and Pepper and steam until cooked, when cooked, chill immediately until cold (between 1°c - 4°c
Place fish into a bowl with Spring Onions, Herbs, Mayonnaise and Lemon Juice. Mix gently together until everything is bound together. (Take care not to mix too hard otherwise the fish will turn to puree), taste the mix for seasoning, and add more if necessary. Shape the mix into four equal sized cakes.
Place the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into 3 seperate bowls, pass each cake , first through the flour, shaking off any excess, then through the egg and finally coat well in breadcrumbs. Reshape the cakes, ensuring that they are coated well in breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the butter and cook fishcakes until golden brown and crispy, make sure the fishcakes are hot in the middle and if necessary, place into a heated oven at 160°c - 180°c for 5-10 minutes.
To serve - Lemon wedges and tartare sauce with chopped anchovies.
750g fresh squid (unprepared)
2 medium hot red chillis (finely chopped)
3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds
3 spring onions (finely chopped)
2/3 fresh coriander sprigs (leaves and stalks, finely chopped)
6 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 lime
Salt and black pepper
Clean the squid and then cut along one side of each pouch and open out flat. Score the inner side into a diamond pattern with the tip of a small sharp knife, and then cut into 5cm (2 inch) squares. Separate the tentacles if large and set both to one side.
Put 6 tablespoons of oil into a small pan, when hot add chopped chilli and garlic. Fry for a few seconds, then remove chilli and garlic onto kitchen paper to remove excess oil (do not let the garlic go brown as this will give it a bitter taste).
Heat a frying pan over a high heat, add sesame seeds and toast for a few seconds. Then remove from heat and set aside.
Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking, use 2 tablespoons of the oil from the chilli and garlic and add half the squid. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until lightly coloured. Tip onto a warm plate and repeat process with the rest of the squid.
Place the squid on a warm serving plate, add a couple of turns of salt and black pepper, sprinkle over garlic, chilli, toasted sesame seeds, spring onion and coriander and finally finish with a squeeze of lime
To serve - Salad and lime wedges
Serves 4 as starters or 2 as a main course
1kg of mussels with shell
30g butter
A splash of Olive Oil
1 large tin of chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
A large sprig of fresh Basil (chopped)
1 small Chorizo sausage (diced in small cubes)
100ml good red wine
Rinse the mussels under the tap, scrub the outside of the shells to clean and trim the "hairy" beard.
Knock any open mussels hard with an implement (spoon/knife/fork). If they don't shut throw them out. Then wash again.
There is only one simple rule with mussels: when they are uncooked throw away any open mussels, when they are cooked throw away any that stay closed.
As with any shellfish take particular care and attention in the cleaning and preperation of your mussels, if you have any concerns at all always check with your fishmonger or shellfish supplier.
Melt the butter gently in a pan large enough (with a lid) to hold the mussels. Add a generous splash of olive oil with the chorizo sausage and garlic, fry on a medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Add the red wine and reduce by half. At this stage introduce the chopped tomatoes and fresh basil.
As soon as the mixture is bubbling place the mussels in the pan gently and cover for three minutes or until all the mussels have opened.
Serve straight from the pan into a large bowl.
Garnish with toasted crusty bread.
